


Golden Hour

by LamesIsCanon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, American AU, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Jegulily, M/M, Multi, Not Beta Read, Pining, Remus Lupin & James Potter Friendship, Road Trips, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Slow Burn, Summer Romance, Summer Vacation, Underage Drinking, Wholesome Friendship, dorlene, legal adults but still teenagers, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:15:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LamesIsCanon/pseuds/LamesIsCanon
Summary: "My mother must be growing a heart. I heard her saying she was going to apologize for the way she's acted towards you.""Um... why?""Because she thinks you hate me."It was weird to think about how that used to be true. How it was only a month ago they couldn't stand to be in the same room together but now they were acting like best friends who have known each other all of their lives. Ever since the best summer of his life first started, Remus has come to accept that some things are bound to happen, and being friends with Sirius Black was just one of those things.orRemus hustles pool, James is fond of his dashboard decoration, Peter buys a sweatshirt in the middle of summer, and Sirius hates Remus for reasons unknown.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Regulus Black/James Potter, Regulus Black/James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Regulus Black/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been on my mind for YEARS and I am so excited to finally put it out there. I hope you like it!!!

Remus lifted his left foot from the sticky patch of spilled beer for the fiftieth time that evening and made an effort to scoot as far away from it as possible while still keeping a spot at the bar. It did not prove to be an easy task. 

The bar was crowded on a Friday night/Saturday morning, seemingly the only place in the small town where locals could get out and actually do something other than go to the grocery store or sit home and watch Golden Girls reruns. Older couples took claim to the booths at the front of the bar, closer to the door and away from the noise that surrounded the pool tables and dart board. Local community college kids were gathered more towards the back, sitting on tables and leaning against the old arcade games. Under normal circumstances, Remus wondered if he'd be hanging around with them, making friends with the group playing darts and setting up his own game of beer pong against randoms, but Remus didn't know anyone in the place, and he wasn't there to meet people he'd never see again come morning. 

Besides, his fake ID was working perfectly fine without the aid of older faces. Lonely or not, it worked enough to get him six drinks, at least. No matter how fun arcade games sounded at the moment.

Remus' attention turned to the pool tables when someone let out a loud whoop of victory. He watched a student throw down his pool stick in defeat and hand two twenties over to the man in a sweater, then sulk off towards his friends who welcomed the loser with poorly hidden looks of amusement and back pats of pity. The winner of the game put the bills in his pocket before raising his own pool stick like a trophy.

"Who's next?"

Remus didn't get to find out who stepped up because the bar tender came over with another bottle for Remus and put on an exasperated expression when he noticed where Remus was looking. 

"He does it every Friday. Comes in and manages to get drunk college kids to bet their grocery money for a game. Wins every time." The bartender said, shaking his head at the table. Remus looked again to see an older girl had taken to the challenge but was having trouble hitting the cue ball with her stick. 

"Could you stop him?" Remus asked, aware that it was the first time he spoke while in the building and hoped his voice didn't betray his age. 

The bartender seemed to not notice, but only looked at Remus like he had never considered the idea. 

"Honestly, man? I just work here."

Remus hummed and nodded, conceding that it probably wasn't the biggest priority for people who get paid to make drinks. Without saying anything else, the bartender left him with his new bottle and then set off to the other side of the bar to attend to more customers.

Remus was halfway done with the bottle and contemplating whether he should buy something to eat when a round of disappointed "awwws" and loud cheers erupted at the same time from the game of pool. By the looks of it, the same guy in the sweater had won again and was receiving claps on the back from his other sweater wearing friends while ignoring the girl and her own group as they walked away. Remus waited. 

The balls were re-racked, and the winner was once again trying to find another opponent. Remus still waited. 

He could hear James' voice in his head, telling him that _NOW'S THE TIME MOONY, GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD_. 

His hands went through his already tousled hair before he could really think about it and walked towards the table, bottle in hand and his best drunken smirk on his face.

"Hey, I'll uh- I'll play." Remus could adopt the drunken confidence and stutter as easy as he could blink, and he swaggered over to the opposite side of the pool table than the sweater gang, hoping his "stumble" didn't go unnoticed.

"I don't know man, you seem a little too far gone." One of them told him, and Remus wondered if they had a group script where they all said the same thing with each new person who approached them. 

"No, no. I'm fine." Remus scoffed, and pretended to miss the edge of the table when he went to set down his drink. He didn't miss the obvious laughter they tried to hide.

"If you insist." This came from the guy who had been playing all night, and he reached his hand out to Remus to shake. "Gilderoy Lockhart." 

Remus stuck out his hand too fast, knocking into Gilderoy's, before correcting himself and shaking his sweaty hand. 

"What's the bet, Gilderoy?" Remus asked.

Lockhart let go of Remus' hand before looking him up and down. "I've been starting with forty, you can make it whatever you want if you decide on playing another game."

"Fourty's sounds good." Remus hiccuped. "I want to break."

"Go ahead." Gilderoy laughed, and when he thought Remus wasn't looking, turned to high five his group of guys. 

Remus lined up the cue ball, but had to blink and shake his head in a poor attempt to set his vision straight. Though, he had to give himself credit when he was able to hit the cue ball, even if it missed the rack of balls on the other end of the table.

Gilderoy won in less than four turns, and took the two twenties Remus had set on the table and pocketed them. 

"Oh, no. Let me at least try to win it back." Remus complained, miserable in the feeling of a loss. 

"Are you sure? You really don't look like you should be playing." Gilderoy spun the stick in his hands, expectant look on his face like he already knew Remus' answer. 

"I'm _fine_. Here, I've got a hundred right here." Remus pulled out the bill and put it on the betting table, hoping Lockhart would match it and then in less than twenty minutes this night could be over and Remus could get out of here. 

Lockhart surprised Remus by pulling out three of the same bills Remus just put down. 

"How about three-hundred?" He asked. 

This wasn't the first time this had happened to Remus. As long as players like Lockhart think they found someone drunk and desperate enough, they'll always take advantage. Problem was, Remus hadn't planned on it happening tonight. The remaining cash he had in his pocket was a fifty. 

"I only have half of that." Remus coughed awkwardly, pulling his last bill and stacking it on the top. Lockhart shrugged and took a couple steps, his creepy smile getting way too close than Remus was comfortable with. 

"That's fine. Maybe you can make up the rest with... other attributes."

It took all of Remus' effort to not throw up in his mouth, though now that it was said, Lockhart's many "accidental" drunken stumbles and brush ups into Remus during the last game weren't as accidental as Remus wanted them to be. Though before he could agree or deny, Lockhart stepped away from him and removed the rack from atop the felt and gestured to Remus to go for the break. 

Remus shook of his shock and stumbled over the the table to line up his shot. In light of the three hundred dollar bet, and the fact that he was about to watch that ugly smirk get wiped off Lockhart's face, Remus was "suddenly" much more sober.

He looked up at the sweater wearing assholes before taking his shot, and gave them his cutest smile. Without looking, he sunk two balls off the break.

Lockhart's group decided not to believe it at first, playing it off as drunk luck, but when Remus made the next three in quick, easy succession, their smirks started to fall. It was the split shot Remus made that really started to ruin it for them. 

Remus may not be used to _hustling_ pool, but the game itself is something that can make him feel in control. Right now, Remus Lupin was in his element.

"Left corner pocket." Remus called, before sinking the eight ball without even letting Lockhart get a turn. It was when Remus grabbed the money off the table that he realized he had just made a group of at least five, bigger guys angry. 

"You hustled me." Lockhart spat. 

Remus moved carefully to put the money in his pocket and grab his empty bottle while laughing. "Haha, Yeah." 

Everything happened so fast, it was over before anyone else could blink.

Lockhart lunged, but Remus was quicker, spinning to sprint towards the door, jumping tables and dodging middle-aged couples in the process.

Remus took a hard right once he was out the door, nearly slipping on the gravel of the parking as he did so. Fucking hell, he was never good at running. This was usually James' talent, while Remus would rather off himself than run as much as his friend did. Unfortunately James sucked at hustling, so he sat waiting in his light blue truck instead, which Remus could finally see as he cut the corner to get onto the street where his friends were waiting. 

He could hear several pairs of footsteps behind him getting closer with each sride. The angry shouts from the men following him were just as loud, but Remus was too focused on getting the fuck out of there to notice what they were saying. 

The truck was so close - just a hundred yards or so - and luckily James or Peter must've spotted him since the tail lights were now glowing red and the vehicle was inching forward, leaving little clouds of dust behind. 

Remus jumped once he was close enough, swearing that he must've cleared the tailgate by a couple feet and thanking adrenaline for the wonderful powers it could give him at times. He landed with a hard thump despite their bags in the bed, and then ran his hands over his pockets to make sure the cash was still there before yelling at James.

"DRIVE! Fucking drive!"

The crunch of tires against gravel made so that the angry yelling from the mob could no longer be heard. The ones who'd gotten closest were Gilderoy and two of his sweater wearing friends, all who looked sweaty and livid. Remus flipped them off and threw his empty bottle at their feet, and the three teenagers drove out of the town, their laughter drowning out the songs playing over the radio. 

"Remus! You crazy son of a bitch, you did it!" Peter's voice came from behind him, yelling through the open rear window. He indulged Peter in the fist bump and high five he held his hand out for, and then did the same to James when he reached behind him through the window.

"Remus, my boy, would your mama be proud?" James piped up from the driver's seat, though it was hard to hear since the responsible idiot never took his eyes off the road when driving. Remus just rolled his eyes, knowing James couldn't actually see him but trusting he'd know Remus's answer anyways.

"To Hogsmeade!" Peter cheered and the other boys followed along, letting James turn up the radio as they sang themselves hoarse at the top of their lungs and watch as the lights of the small town faded the further they drove. 

Remus laid himself down in the truck's bed on top of all their bags and stared up at the stars, enjoying the high of the hustle and the warmth of the summer night that washed over him. The truck bed is where he'd be sleeping tonight since they were trying not to spend money on motels and to cover as much distance as they could so they'd arrive to Black Lake sooner than later. Knowing he'd have to trade James spots in just a few hours, Remus closed his eyes to let himself get some sleep with a smile on his face. 

He woke up when the sky was just starting to turn a lighter blue, and noticed a blanket tucked over his legs and his head was now rested against the tarp James must have put under his head when they stopped for gas. Remus turned on his back to watch the tops of the pine trees pass over the lighter sky and to see the stars still twinkling while they could in the early morning. 

When he sat up, he noticed they were on a narrow two-lane road going through the mountains meaning they were close to Hogsmeade. The buzz of excitement that filled him made the moment perfect, and he watched the pine trees pass them by just a bit longer before deciding it was time to give James a chance at sleep. 

Remus knocked on the rear window to let James know he was awake, who pulled the truck into a dirt parking lot belonging to an overlook with a view of the mountains and trees below them. "Sleep well?" James climbed out of the truck, ignoring the squeaky hinges as he shut the door and leaned against the back to talk to Remus. "A little cold." Remus shrugged. "Thanks for the blanket." James just smiled and bent over the side to dig through his duffel for the toothpaste bottle and toothbrush.

Remus dug through their cooler to his left and threw James a water bottle before grabbing his own brush.

"Thanks." James said. 

Remus nodded and let them brush their teeth in silence, using the water bottles to rinse their mouths and toothbrushes. Remus spit over the side of the truck and took James's brush when he was done and put both of theirs away. 

"I'm going for a bathroom break. Wake Pete up, will you? The boy probably has to go, too." James walked off towards the trees and left Remus to climb out of the bed and stretch his limbs. He put his arms over his head and leaned from one side to the other, smiling when his back let out a satisfying series of pops. Once satisfied with the release of tension, he opened the passenger door and shook Peter's shoulder several times before the boy would even open his eyes. Remus was given a glare and two middle fingers. 

"The fuck do you want?" Peter croaked. 

"Good morning to you, too," Remus said cheerfully, "We're going to start moving again soon so now is the time to let it all out." 

"Bless you." Peter got out of the truck and went off towards the trees as James was coming back. 

"Congratulations on being a professional liar." James spoke as he got into the bed and started arranging their sleeping bags into a makeshift mattress. It was something Remus would have done if he hadn't been so tired the night before. 

"It's not professional. I'm more at the entry level when it comes to hustling skills." Remus climbed into the bed again to sit with James as they waited for Peter to come back. 

"Really? Cause three hundred dollars sounds pretty fucking professional to me." James stopped at Remus' questioning look. "I had to search your pockets when I stopped for gas. I hope you didn't have any dirty dreams about me." He winked. 

"It would have been more like a nightmare after dealing with someone named Gilderoy." Remus snorted. "He wore a fucking sweater to a bar, James. In summer."

Peter was back by the truck now, stretching his arms over his head and laughing. "That's it? I feel like you've dealt with worse." Remus ignored the comment, opting to glare at Peter as he climbed in to sit next to James, and lay his legs on Remus' lap.

"Maybe you'd think so," Remus said eventually, "But I told this guy I didn't have enough for a three hundred dollar bet and he told me that I could make up for it with my "other attributes" then proceeded to repeatedly stumble into me."

It took a couple of seconds for the words to process and then nothing could stop James and Peter from laughing harder than was warranted for Remus' suffering. He frowned at them as they leaned on each other, nearly crying and trying to catch their breath.

"Oh my, what lovely attributes you have." James teased, and Peter broke out into another hysterical fit of laughter.

"Get in the fucking car." He scowled, ignoring them to sit in the driver's side. Traitorous bastards.

"You know, with a line like that, I would have upped the bet to five hundred at least." James commented later when they were sitting in the booth of a cafe for breakfast.

"Yeah, well, easy for you to say. You played the easy role of getaway driver." 

"And my skills got us out of there before you got your ass beat." 

" _My_ skills are buying your breakfast." 

The waiter came by then with plates of french toast and bacon, which was enough to shut them up for a while. The topic was dropped after they finished breakfast and instead they listened to Peter tell a story while they waited for the check to come.

Back on the road, after Peter woke up in the bed, he and Remus played rock, paper, scissors through the rear-view mirror. When that got old, Remus threw fruit snacks out the window to Peter, who was very good at catching them in his mouth. They ran out of the stale fruit snacks fast, so Remus resorted to turn up the volume on the radio. And because he was a little shit, he sand along with the lyrics. Horribly.

James' unopened crackers hit him in the nose and it hurt enough to get Remus to shut up for a couple of seconds. 

"I wanted chocolate." Remus complained seconds before that, too, hit him in the head.

"You're welcome for the snacks." James said, sitting up and blinking at the road before them. "And all for waking me up. I swear, I give more than I get in this friendship." 

"James, if you wanted to get a little extra, all you had to do was ask." Remus joked, moving to drag his hand up James's thigh. James yelped and shoved Remus's hand away. 

"Moony!" James's voice took on a scandalized tone. "You can't feel me up in front of Deb! She'll get jealous." He referred to the fluffy pink animal doll that James fondly attached to the dashboard and claimed to be good luck to all who pet her head. Remus had no idea what animal it was supposed to resemble, but Peter had taken to calling it a puff, so they all just went along with it. 

"I forgot about Deb." Remus groaned. "Why did we invite her here?"

"She's my girl, Remus. She goes where I go."

Peter's hand came through the rear window in that moment to reach through and pat Deborah's head seemingly to spite Remus, who hated the pink puff monster with all his heart.

"Good luck for you!" James cheered, and high-fived Peter. 

"Peter, please. I'm driving." Remus shoved his hand back out the window, only because he was annoyed and not because he was actually worried about their safety on the empty mountain road.

"No fun!" Peter complained, but pulled his arm out anyway, though he kept his head poked through the glass to keep talking. "Deborah will now get us there quicker, you just see." 

"Fuck off about Deborah. I'm the one driving." Remus said, though there was no heat to it. James and Peter laughed about how annoyed Remus could get with the harmless little dashboard animal. 

"Hey, we just passed exit 11! The Hogsmeade exit is coming up soon." James pulled out their road map from the glove box, one that had "Marauder's Map" written in Peter's bold handwriting at the top of it when they were drunk and still planning this trip just a month ago. 

"What? I swear we had only just barely passed exit 7." Remus pulled James hand towards him so he could get a quick glimpse of the spread out map in James's hand to see that James added a check mark over "exit 11. One more, bitch" also written by Peter. 

"Deborahhhhhh." James stage-whispered, and pumped his fist. "It's her magic, it's working."

"Huh, that was fast." Peter said.

Remus blinked at the pink puff and tried his best to subtly scoot further away from it.

Sooner than Remus had expected, exit 12 came up and James started punching the roof when Remus turned his signal on to take it. The pines around them became more dense as they got closer to the top of the mountain, and then they were over the peak and the town of Hogsmeade was below.

"Wow." Remus said and Peter let out a whistle.

"There she is." James sighed wistfully. "So much nostalgia."

James had always talked about Hogsmeade to Remus and Peter whenever possible. It was his family's vacation spot every summer growing up, and a couple weeks during Christmas. James spent so much time there that he'd made life long friends that he talked to everyday on the phone and mentioned numerous times to Remus and Peter. Now, as newly grads, James begged them to come live with him this summer, adult-free, and work for the resort his friend's family owned. Hearing so many stories about Hogsmeade and how awesome it was, it didn't take a lot to convince the other two to go.

From their view, the lake was nestled to the right of the mountains within the tiny valley, and the town was to its left. James told them they'd see a similar view from the back deck of the Potter cabin.

Arriving at Potter cabin was a relief for the three boys, who were all awaiting the feel of a mattress under them and the luxury of a real pillow after taking a shower. The lake house was just as James had always described it. A beautiful, rustic look on the exterior, and cozy dark wood everywhere in the interior. Already, Remus knew he could call this place home for the next four months. His bags that he carried in from the truck were left by the couch, and he walked out onto the back deck to find the same view they saw from the top of the mountain, though much closer now. The sun glittered across the water and the small town below was covered in same pine trees they just spent the last couple hours driving through. Remus felt like he belonged to this place.

He heard the other two step through the back door and come to rest against he balcony with him, but no one said anything lest they ruin the moment. They watched the water move, the sparkling effects of the sun's reflection lulling them into a peaceful observing moment.

"I love this place." James sighed.

"We can tell, you know. You never shut the fuck up about it." Remus said, and the peaceful moment was gone. Though, Remus preferred the banter with his friends anyway.

James punched him lightly in the arm. "Watch your mouth, Lupin. You'll be just as in love at the end of September, you won't want to leave. Then I'll be the one laughing. Ha ha ha!"

Peter snorted at James's terrible fake laugh and they all dissolved into a fit of laughter, a result of the exhaustion their long car ride created.

Remus caught his breath and let the reality of his tiredness hit him. "I think we all need a nap."

"Let's show you the rooms, you can pick the one you want, whoever calls dibs first. Deal?" James asked.

"Deal."

Despite the generosity of James offering them any room they wanted, Peter took great advantage over the fact that James forgot to claim the master bedroom for himself. James tried to argue that since his family owned the house, he thought it would be a given that it was his room, but Peter argued that James told them they could pick the one they wanted, and Peter wanted the water bed. Remus was torn on which side to choose, since he was a stickler to technicalities and keeping people to stay true to their word. And James did say it was whoever called dibs first. But on the other hand, he believed in the idea that since it was James's house, and he and Peter were only guests, it should have been obvious James would get the master bedroom. Rather than choose a side, he opted to stay out of it.

James and Peter were both some of the most stubborn people Remus knew though, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when they decided to just share the water bed. In the end, there were no hard feelings between any of them.

"You are not going to sleep in the same bed for four months." Remus deadpanned. Peter and James looked up from unpacking their bags into opposite sides of the drawer and grinned.

"Looking forward to it, actually." Peter joked, though he should have known better.

"Aw, my Petey Bird wants to snuggle with me!" James came up from behind Peter and wrapped his arms around his chest, trapping Peter's arms against him, and planted many kisses on the top of his head.

"Get off! You know I hate hugs from behind!"

Remus rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smile that came up. He loved these morons.

James laughed as he let go of Peter to continue packing, which reminded Remus that he needed to do the same in his own room.

"I don't care what you guys do, but if I hear any noises at night -" Remus was cut off by two pillows thrown directly at his face.

Peter laughed and shut the final drawer on his side of the dresser. "Don't be jealous, Remus. The bed's big enough for three."

"There will be no threesomes this summer!" James exclaimed, throwing another pillow at Peter.

"Wow, okay fine, if you're going to make me choose between the two of you, I guess I've got to pack up and move into Remus' room." Peter said.

"Traitor!" James gasped and hit Peter with another pillow - the bed had a ridiculous amount - before running towards Remus to do the same to him.

"Run, Remus! Save yourself!"

The theatrics and the jokes were often a bit over the top, but Remus would always decide to humor them. His life was more fun that way, anyways. Remus's socked feet slipped on the slick, dark wood floor when he went to run down the hall away from his maniac of a best friend. His legs went flying out from under him, though they luckily knocked James over, who was already unsteady himself with his own socked feet. Remus managed to catch himself before his face or chest hit the floor and got his legs to push him towards his room at the end of the hall before James could get him. The door was slammed shut in front of James and Remus leaned against it once he was safe, breathing heavy and laughing hard.

When he heard James finally walk back to his own room, Remus went to the duffel bags he had moved onto the bed earlier and started unpacking them. His own room had a smaller dresser on the opposite side of the room from the bed with a TV and DVD player on top, which would allow him to indulge in his habit of falling asleep to movies. There was a window next to the bed, and one on the opposite side of the door that looked out into the forest of pines, rather than the lake. Remus had thought he'd be seeing a lot of the lake, so he decided to get a change of scenery. Plus, the window looked out over the path that led through the trees, which James had explained they would use to walk to work every day.

The best part of the room though, was his own, private bathroom in the corner by the TV. Without a doubt, Remus would love it here.

The door opened to allow James and Peter to walk in, who seemingly couldn't spend more than a couple of minutes away from Remus to allow him the time to unpack. James flopped on the bed and turned the TV on while Peter opted to help Remus put his clothes in the drawers. The sounds of a Christmas movie left in the DVD player filled the room, but no one minded. It was just background noise.

"I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep." James said. "I'll be too excited."

"Oh, thank God." Peter groaned. "I really, really want to go see the town."

"Well boys, let's go on a lunch date then." James led them out of Remus's bedroom. Though rather than take them to the truck parked on the driveway out the front door, they took the stairs to the basement and out the side door that opened to reveal the jogging path that ran through the trees. It took them less than three minutes to follow the path to end up directly on Hogsmeade's main street, which was lined with old fashioned shops and signs on both sides of the cobblestone street. The perfect tourist attraction.

"James, man, I love this place." Peter said in awe, blindly grasping for James shirt sleeve to add to the drama of it all. "Pinch me, I'm surely dreaming."

James's hand moved so fast Remus would have missed it if he blinked. 

"Ow! Not my ass, you idiot!" 

The street was full of locals and tourists, all heading to work or window shopping for souvenirs. Most people were heading towards the local restaurants, which spurred James to lead them to one of his favorite places before it got too busy.

They entered a sweet little bakery, known as Madam Puddifoot's, with tables of light polished wood and mint green chairs around them. The menu had items named in a theme following Valentine's day, like "Heart U Hand Pies" and "Couple's Croissant". It was a place Remus never would have expected James to step foot in, but he shrugged and decided to roll with it due to how hungry he was.

However, James didn't stop behind the lines of older women waiting impatiently to get to the cash registers. Instead, he went past the line, through the cafe's aisle of bookshelves, and down the stairs and into a room that was significantly more dirty than the upstairs bakery. At least, Remus noted, it was much less busy. The people down here were more patient in their line-waiting, not bothered with the wait or the ordering system the place had. The sign above the single cash register read "Honeydukes Cellar" rather than have a name that associated it to Madam Puddifoot's in any way.

"Honeydukes is Hogsmeade's most popular store, probably." James came by Remus and Peter to wait in line and explain the strange place they'd just found themselves in. "It's a local favorite, but tourists crowd the place night and day so the same company opened up this joint on the side. Only the locals know about it, and the appearance is meant to drive away any new comers in case they happen to stumble upon it."

"That's... really cool actually. Very clever." Remus said.

Peter's face lit up with way more excitement than Remus thought was appropriate, given their lack of sleep and real food in the past day. "It's like our own speakeasy! But with pastries and sweets!"

"Exactly, Pete. And it's cheap, it's delicious, and it's quick." James clapped him on the back and then stepped up to take his place at the counter when the customer in front of them finished paying.

James ordered for all of them, explaining that they needed to try the Pumpkin Pasties, a breakfast pastry, before they ever tried everything else. He promised that once they admitted it was absolutely delicious, they could order for themselves when they were sure to visit this place many times in the near future. Exactly like James said, the food came quick, and Remus had never had anything as delicious as the pastie for breakfast in his life.

"I'm never eating anywhere else." Peter voiced Remus's own thoughts out loud.

When they were done with their lunch, they moved onto the shopping part of exploring the town. Remus brought up that they might want to avoid the bigger stores, since they'd likely be more full, and James agreed. They stumbled upon a smaller, local souvenir shop instead which provided the entertainment of looking and contemplating to last them a couple hours, without tourists to crowd the aisles.

"How does this look?" Peter held up a large, yellow hoodie against him while looking in the mirror. Remus quirked his brow. 

"It's summer, Pete." 

"Yeah, but we're in the mountains. And it could get cold at night." 

James walked over from where he was looking at long sleeve shirts with "What Happens at the Lake, Stays at the Lake" printed on the fronts. 

"I think you look great. Makes your hair look darker." James nodded in approval at the hoodie, smiling at Peter when he decided to sling it around his shoulder so he could pay for it later.

They used a third of Remus's hustled earnings to allow themselves a couple of souvenir buys, deciding to keep the rest in case of emergencies until they at least got their first paycheck of the summer. It was also able to buy them a small list of groceries for a light dinner once they were back at the cabin hours later. Walking main street and exploring Hogsmeade had made them all excited again, but tired enough that they found they did not have the energy to cook anything.

"Good thing we bought things we don't have to make." James noted, taking in their sluggish walking and drooping eyelids. He pulled out their dinner of a small, chocolate cake from the grocery store's bakery and a bowl of mixed fruit as the side dish.

"Dig in."

The boys ate in silence, enjoying the moment of relaxation after a long day. It was so like Remus to want a chocolate cake for dinner, and so like James to suggest something healthy like fruit to cancel out the calories, that it made the dinner feel much more special. Their first dinner as unsupervised adults - but technically still teens, as Peter would be quick to point out - was irresponsible and unhealthy. It was also perfect.

"Right, boys." James stood up when the cake was done and the fruit had remained untouched for a couple minutes straight. "Let's get our rest. We relax and settle in tomorrow, and come Monday, we will be men!"

Remus and Peter let out a half-hearted, tired cheer just to indulge James in his dramatics, and then they were all hugging each other goodnight.

What was to follow, would be the best summer of their lives.


	2. Something About a Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, Dumbledore's a hippy in this fic. What about it?
> 
> Chapter Warning!!!!!!!! Homophobic language in this chapter. The Q word is used as a slur by Snape. Please be careful.

Minerva McGonagall's office was full of six teenagers, three of which looking a little more tired than the others. In hindsight, Remus knew, having "just a few drinks" to celebrate their newfound freedom had been a terrible idea. He woke up this morning to see James and Peter running around Potter cabin, trying to find their shoes and Remus had barely enough time to eat toast for breakfast before they all had to rush out of the house and down the trail to make it to the Black Resort staff offices. Remus was sorely regretting not waking up with more time for a real breakfast, and for forgetting mouthwash after brushing his teeth. 

At least James and Peter were looking as rough as he was feeling, but the former immediately perked up when the door opened and a tall woman with perfect posture and an even more perfect bun on top of her head stepped in.

The woman caught James beaming at her, and took a second to smile back before addressing the whole room. 

"It's so nice to see some new faces this year, and some familiar ones." The woman said, allowing Remus to finally figure out that this was Minerva McGonagall, their boss and the woman James would talk about non-stop. "I'm hoping to get to know you all a little more while working this summer, but in the meantime we'll get straight to business." 

McGonagall sat down behind her desk and pulled out a small pile of papers before glancing back at the teenagers. "I'm sure you're all excited to start training. I've some employees waiting outside to take those assigned to them to train in your area, and I tried my best to put you where you requested on your application, but due to some availabilities I had to rearrange it a bit." McGonagall pulled out a bag of black uniform shirts, "I'll call out your name, hand you your name tag and your work shirt, and then you're free to leave. Whoever is assigned to you outside will find you by your name tag, so be sure to put it on." 

A boy by the name Benjy Fenwick was called to train as a lifeguard before Peter got his nametag, assigned to work in the concessions stand by the watersports on the dock. Peter looked happy about his placement, leaving the room with a grin and a cheery wink thrown towards James and Remus. Next to be excused were the other two teens, two girls, before James and Remus were able to get their assignments. 

"James Potter. Water Sports Instructor. It's good to see you, Mr. Potter." McGonagall pulled the paper she was just reading from the top of the stack of two, and set it off to the side, all while sending a slight smile in James' direction. 

"Always a pleasure, Minnie. I'm happy to be here." James said, winking at the two left in the room, before he threw the door open with a skip in his step and let the thing close behind him. 

"That boy, always a pain in my ass." Came McGonagall's voice, and Remus was reminded he was left alone with her. If she thought anything about her language was unprofessional, she didn't show it, and though it surprised Remus, he thought he could really appreciate the people and the work environment if they were all as lax as this.

"He's certainly a character, ma'am, but a hell of a good friend." Remus offered her, noticing her expressionless face twitched into a smile for the second time that morning. 

"Mr. Potter is a very nice young man, I've had the unfortunate pleasure of knowing him since he was young, being friends with Euphemia and Fleamont. A nice family, indeed." McGonagall's smile lingered for a few seconds longer, but was schooled back into her neutral expression as if suddenly remembering there was still someone else in her room to send off for his first day of work, and Remus was grateful to get this moving along faster. 

"Have a seat, Mr. Lupin." 

Remus did not expect that, thinking that he would get a nametag and released from the room just as quickly as the five teens before him had. 

"Is there something wrong, ma'am?" Remus sat at the only available chair in front of McGonagall's desk, nervous at how the procedure had changed in the blink of an eye. 

"Nothing terribly troubling, I assure you I'll try my best to get you out of here and off to training as quick as I can." Remus let out a breath of relief at her words, though it didn't last long. "I did notice on your application, however, you did not request any specific job title. It made it rather difficult to place you somewhere without knowing what you'd like to do for us this summer. Usually, I'd put someone with your sort of application in the job with most availabilities, the sort of positions that most other teens try their best to get out of."

Remus inwardly winced at what sort of jobs those might be, like janitor duty. The horrors of the potential of that sort of job flashed through his mind, imagining himself having to pick up after sick children in the kid's room of the resort, or cleaning the restrooms by the lake. He had a weak stomach, and greatly appreciated the implication that McGonagall had thought different about putting him there. 

"I was impressed with your application, Mr. Lupin. Top of your class at school, a perfect GPA, and your vocabulary in your responses led me to believe you're very well read, I thought you'd be better suited in a position that would flaunt your strengths." 

"Thank you, ma'am. If I may ask, what sort of position may that be?" Remus asked, now aware that he should try his best to live up to the image McGonagall created of him in his head, though it took a lot of strength to keep himself from stammering or using "um" too much. Anything it took to keep him from cleaning up puke and other bodily fluids was well worth the effort. 

"The position I have in mind for you is one that may require a bit of extra training, either from myself or another resort manager. Usually, I'd have this position filled by the New Year, but we had the previous occupant quit, and he's still on vacation with his family in France until the end of the week anyway. So I thought the position would be best to fall to you, we'll call it Excursion Advisor, a role that is often reserved for locals due to the knowledge of the area required, but I'm willing to see how you'd fit in with the job." 

Excursion advisor, huh. 

"I noticed that your address on your application was listed under the Potter Cabin, which confirms my suspicions of whether or not you are familiar with the Hogsmeade area, but mostly this job requires a quick mind and someone who is able to give accurate information to guests about our offered services outside of resort grounds. The Black family owns many other private lakes around the area, along with the hiking trails and gondolas on the mountain. Your job would be to assist guests with the right excursion for them, take into consideration what kind of activities the family would be interested, whether there are young children present or not, and then finally, sell them the one that fits them best." McGonagall crossed her knuckles and leant forward while giving Remus a calculating look.

Remus absorbed the information as quick as he could, trying to keep up with everything McGonagall was saying while also planning out how he could best fit this role being described to him. He could be a persuasive person, and the charm he usually reserved for when hustling pool would be useful for the job. 

"Right, so pay attention to the families, or guests, put them into a metaphorical category reflecting their interests, and sell the excursion?" at McGonagall's nod of confirmation, Remus shrugged as if it was no bother, "Piece of cake." 

McGonagall beamed, a smile that only showed if she really meant it, as Remus was quickly learning. She stood and held out her hand for Remus after he was on his feet as well. Remus made sure to keep the handshake firm and friendly, using the opportunity to further set up a good image for him with his boss. 

"It's nice to see my thoughts were correct, Mr. Lupin," McGonagall said, then dropped her hand and the smile that came with it and her tone turned serious, "Don't mess this up." 

Remus was handed his nametag and his uniform shirt, then tried not to bolt out of the office as he went out to meet his training partner, a boy McGonagall had informed him would have a black shirt like his and a nametag that read "Severus".

With the door now shut firmly behind him, Remus glanced up and down the hall of the staff quarters in the Black Resort hotel, with no one else to be seen. Remus sighed, wishing for better luck, when the sight of a bathroom came into view and Remus thought that he could at least change into his work uniform and then find his employee locker to put stuff his current shirt in. 

The bathroom door swung open a lot easier than Remus was expecting, getting away from his hands and knocking into the back of someone. There were voices inside that immediately cut off when the door's hinges squeaked and the wood was knocked into somebody's back. The girl with red hair was already facing him, the anger on her face falling into shock when she spotted Remus, while the unfortunate victim of the door turned to face him with a sneer.

"Uh, sorry, I just thought I'd change." Remus held up the shirt in his hand while the other was holding the door open. The red head quickly morphed her face into a friendly smile while the boy with long, greasy hair kept his face in the ugly expression.

"Of course! Sorry, we were just talking. Gender neutral bathroom and all, you know?" The girl said.

Remus didn't know this. "Right, well, I'll just be over there." He gestured towards the two unoccupied stalls in the bathroom and hurried over, letting the door swing shut. 

"Don't you have a dock that needs managing? Better get there before they miss you." Remus heard the boy say. 

"Don't fucking tell me what to do, Sev." The door squeaked open and then shut again, signaling the departure of the red head. Remus had the stall locked and was just pulling off his shirt when he heard the boy heave one great, final sigh before the bathroom door closed behind him, too. He rolled his eyes at the drama, stuck his tshirt between his legs to be held while he pulled on the black uniform shirt and tucked it into his tan cargo shorts. A unifrom requirement for the job, the ugly shorts that showed too much of his legs.

Once changed, he stepped out by the sinks. He hadn't used the bathroom, but he thought he'd wash his hands to give the others time to clear the hallway so he wouldn't interrupt any other awkward moments. One was enough.

The water from the faucet ran cold, something Remus was grateful for in the heat of late May. He shook his hands above the sink, letting the water droplets fling off of him before moving to grab a paper towel from the top of the stack below the mirror.

Taking more care in opening the bathroom door this time, Remus stepped out and hoped that his training partner would be waiting by McGonagall's door, but there was only the boy from the bathroom leaning against the wall and scrolling through his phone. Well, at least the girl was gone and there were no more arugments to be had. Resigning himself to his fate, Remus walked up to the boy to ask where he could find "Severus" before realizing that the boy's name tag read exactly that. Great. 

"Hey, I'm Remus. McGonagall said you'll be the one to train me today." Remus held out his hand while speaking, which went completely ignored. 

"Are you a local?" Severus asked, not looking up from his phone.

Remus had no idea why it mattered, but thought that arguing with his coworker on his first day would do more bad than good. "No, I'm living with James Potter this summer. I'm from-"

"Figures." Severus pushed himself off the wall with a scoff and pocketed his phone. Remus dropped his hand and wondered what this guy's problem was. "Let's get started, you already made me wait long enough." 

Severus started off down the hall, leaving Remus to roll his eyes and control the sudden flare of anger in his chest before jogging to catch up with him. They walked out through the staff doors and into the hotel lobby, where Severus explained that he'd be working most of the time but would give him a tour of later.

Their first destination Severus really showed him was the restaurant on the beach. Remus was told that the people who worked in there were mostly older, since it was the five star pride and joy of Black Resort and the managers didn't want to risk hiring teenagers who would accidentally mess up the guest's food and have angry customers drop the rating. Though, he also learned that if guests so chose, he'd meet with them in the restaurant to discuss excursions.

All of the information Severus gave him sounded like he was trying to scare Remus off of the job, or at other times Severus sounded reluctant to give any further information Remus asked for. Remus instantly didn't like him. 

"This is the main dock. The furthest end is where boats are allowed to tie up while the guests go eat before heading back out onto the water, or it's where guests can return the rental ski boats if they don't have one of their own. There's also a couple of gas pumps for boats and jet skis."

Remus nodded along, absorbing this specific information since he thought it'd be more relevant to his particular position. 

"Closer to us is one of the many concessions stands, and on the other half of the building is the water sports hut. It's where guests can rent out our equipment, and be taught how to use things by the trainers. They teach guests how to wake surf, paddleboard, use the water jetpacks, etcetera." Severus cut off when he caught sight of the red head from the bathroom walking around the very end of the docks, talking to guests, fueling a couple of jet skis, and tying a boat up to the cleats as a family climbed off and onto the dock.

"On second thought, I think it'd be better to let you see it rather then just explain it all to you." Severus gestured for Remus to follow him as they made their way to the end of the dock and met up with the girl. 

"Lily." Severus greeted when they were close enough, making Lily jump as she was tying more rope to stabilize the boat that just came in. 

"Sev, what are you doing here? I'm busy." Lily sounded angry and exasperated as she spun back around to focus on her work, completely ignoring both of the boys. 

"I'm just showing the newbie around. Thought he could do with seeing everything in person." Severus' voice now sounded much kinder than it had when he was leading Remus on the tour. 

At the mention of Remus, Lily actually looked up, seemingly noticing him for the first time.

"Oh my god, you're the boy from the bathroom! Sorry, nice to meet you, I'm Lily." She wiped her wet hands off on her own tan cargo shorts, ones that she wore much better than Remus, before holding her hand out to shake. 

Happy to have _somebody_ return his handshake, Remus reached out with a smile on his face. "Remus. Nice to meet you, Lily."

A throat cleared from Remus' left, and Lily's face immediately darkened again. 

"Right, well, I'm sorry to cut our introduction so short, but I have work to do." None of her words were aimed towards Remus, however. The glare on her face was pointed directly at Severus, and then she turned to walk towards the gas pumps, where two boats had just pulled into. 

Remus' training partner had a glare of his own, watching Lily walk away before he turned to walk back up the dock, towards the beach. Remus huffed at the dramatics, having to jog to catch up to Severus _again_. 

He really wanted to get this day over with. 

James watched Marlene as she gave him a scrutinizing look and stroked her chin with thought. 

"Water ski?" She asked. 

"I know how to do that, too." James beamed. 

Marlene was the water sports manager, two years James Potter's senior and overly excited that her own trainee wasn't completely useless, like last year's had been. She had to teach that boy how to _tube_ , and she was glad not to repeat that nightmare.

"Paddleboard?" 

"Yep."

"Wakeboard?"

"Uh huh." 

"Wake surf?"

"Pfft. They're practically the same thing." James said, watching Marlene finally sigh in relief and then snap her fingers at him. 

"Wakeboarding and surfing are completely different, hun. But we'll get to that later." She motioned for him to follow her, leading him to the back room behind the counter of the rental equipment. "This is where all of our less extreme equipment is. Extra paddles for the paddleboards, snorkeling equipment, boogie boards, you get the idea." She turned the light back off and shut the door. 

"Do people really use snorkeling equipment and boogie boards at a lake?" James asked her, following her out the door and around the back to where the paddleboards and kayaks were stored. 

"You'd be surprised. We have a man who works under McGonagall, his name's Dumbledore, he made a couple of rock statues a few years back and put them under water with permission from the Black family. People like to spot them while snorkeling, see if they can find all twelve scattered here and there. And the boogie boards get some pretty good use on windy days, or when boats drive by and create the waves for us." Marlene grinned. "But just a secret, there are only ten statues."

James laughed at the image of families frantically trying to find two nonexistent statues and never being able to succeed. "So why do people think there are twelve?" he asked. 

"I told them there were, after Dumbledore requested I do so. He's a mad old man, but I'm always up for a bit of mischief myself if I'm being honest." Marlene shrugged, and then motioned towards the equipment behind the building. "Now, the keys to the jet skis are all under the counter, doesn't matter what key gets assigned to which jet ski, they'll all work. But when you rent one out, you have to come back here and make sure the guests are wearing their life vests, and go over how to drive a jet ski. Doesn't matter if they're a pro, or if it's their first time, you have to do it."

"Got it." James said, and Marlene nodded in approval. 

"Now, you also have to watch them back out of the dock, and if it seems like they've got the hang of it, then you're good to let them off and out on their own. If not, you stop them and help them where they may be having issues."

Marlene pointed towards the paddleboards and kayaks. "When a guest rents one of those, you have to carry it for them. Just walk it to the beach and then plonk it in the water and leave them to get on it themselves. When they come back, they take it to the return station on the beach, so we don't have to worry about that. We have a dock cart that we drive at night to transport them all back here at the end of the day." 

"Personally, I find that a little inefficient." James admitted, wondering why they don't just rent them from the beach in the first place. 

"Right? I have no idea why it is the way it is, but I haven't said anything. I just work here, you know?" Marlene shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all, causing James to break out into laughter. 

"Man, I have a feeling we'll get along." 

"You know what, James? I was thinking the same thing. Now come on, I have to show you the best part of the job." Marlene started walking towards the front door to the rental store, but didn't go through. Instead, she led them to the outdoor concessions stand. 

"Peter!" James said, spotting his friend listening to his trainer explaining the cash register. He looked up when he heard James, a smile spreading across his face. 

"James! How's training going?"

Marlene leant against the counter and engaged Peter's training partner in conversation, a girl with a nametag that read "Mary", while she let the boys talk. 

"It's good, Marlene's cool, and the job seems easy enough. What about you?" James nodded his head towards the girls, hoping Peter was just as enthusiastic about his own position as James was. 

"Great, it's basically the same thing as working at dad's shop back home. Easy stuff." Peter explained, and James nodded, expecting the answer and knowing that's why Peter chose this position when they filled out applications two months prior. 

"James." Marlene interrupted, waving him over to her and Mary. "This is Mary MacDonald. The most beautiful face on the dock." She explained, grinning when Mary rolled her eyes. 

"You only say that because I give you free snacks." Mary huffed. 

"You're _supposed_ to give me free snacks. Employees get free shit. But you know you're most beautiful of all." Marlene winked, and Mary just shook her head. James had a feeling they've had this conversation a few times before. 

"You wouldn't be saying that if Dorcas worked on the dock." Mary gave a pointed look towards Marlene, causing her to blush. "Anyways, nice to meet you."

James stuck his own hand to meet the one Mary extended to shake. "James Potter. Nice to meet you as well. I hope Peter isn't being a pain in your ass." 

Mary smiled, ignoring Peter's indignant cry. "Don't worry, he's actually a very quick learner. I'm impressed." 

"That sounds like Pete." James said, watching Peter puff out his chest in pride.

Marlene started to explain to James that the best part of their job, and why she brought him here in the first place, was to show that employees get unlimited snacks for free. That spurred Mary into telling the story about the time Marlene nearly ruined that rule for everybody when she wanted to see how many Twix bars she could eat in an hour. They all kept a careful eye on the front door of the rental shop, incase Marlene and James needed to run back and attend to any customers, but the beach was empty due to the early morning. The resort also wouldn't be busy until June started and kids would be out of school for the summer. 

James and Mary then started throwing gummy bears into each other's mouths, which started a competition in which Peter won. No matter how hard the other three tried to trick him, he was always able to catch them in his mouth. 

"I fucking love this job." Peter said through a mouth of watermelon gummy bears. 

"Hey, have you seen Remus at all?" James questioned, to which Peter shrugged. 

"Saw him walking around the dock with someone earlier, but he looked too busy for me to say hi."

"Did you see who he was with?" Mary asked.

Peter went to grab another mini bag of gummy bears while he answered, "Just some guy with long hair. Big nose."

"Was it Sirius?" James perked up, hoping to see his friend again. He hadn't answered any of James' texts since he arrived in Hogsmeade, despite knowing that James was coming to visit during the summer. He would be worried if he didn't know that Sirius was a) the worst at responding to texts and b) his "delightful" mother would often take away his phone as punishment if he ever did something to piss her off.

"Wait," Marlene paused to catch the gummy bear Peter threw towards her, "You know Sirius?"

"He and I were in ski school every winter when I came down for the holidays. Been friends ever since." James explained, catching his own gummy bear in his mouth before spitting it back out once he realized it was orange. 

Marlene looked surprised at the information, but didn't say anything on the matter until a bit of recognition crossed her face. "It couldn't have been Sirius. He's in France with his family, they aren't supposed to be back until Saturday."

James didn't know this, but at least that explained his friend's texting absence.

"Oh no, your friend is training with a boy with long hair? Big nose?" At Peter's nod of affirmation, Mary and Marlene shared a look. "That means he's with Snape." Mary finished, disgust in her voice. 

"Who's Snape?" James and Peter asked at the same time. 

"The biggest douchebag in all of Hogsmeade." Mary joked, causing Marlene to snort and mutter something that sounded like 'understatement'.

"What position is he training Remus for?" 

"Don't know. Snape's worked a different position each year since he started three years back. Could be anything." Marlene explained. 

"Well, I just hope Remus' first shift is going as well as ours." James said, moving just in time to catch the gummy bear that Peter threw at him. 

Remus' first shift was not going well. 

It seemed like Severus was purposely not talking loud enough to hear, and whenever Remus had to ask him to repeat something, he'd scoff and tell him to pay better attention. Any information Remus could understand was hard for him to take in when he didn't know the context or the importance of what Severus was explaining to him. And then whenever Remus did seem to be following along and asked a question relevant to what was being explained to him, Severus would just glare and derail the topic, refusing to answer any questions he was asked. 

The final destination of their tour was the lobby of the hotel, where Remus was supposed to sit behind the desk during certain times of the day to accept walk-ins looking for the Black Resort's extended offers. Severus had made a couple of passive aggressive remarks about how the information might be too much for Remus' small attention span, and told him not to mess up or else Severus would gladly fill in when he inevitably underperformed. 

Remus was never one to resort to physical violence unless it was absolutely necessary. But right now, Severus and his giant nose were looking very punchable.

Just when he was about to give into his own urge, McGonagall came walking out of the staff door and headed towards them. Remus unclenched his fist when he decided that punching his coworker in front of his boss on the first day was a sure way to get him fired. 

"Mr. Lupin." McGonagall greeted him. "How is training going?"

He almost, _almost_ told her that training would've been much better if she paired him with someone more competent, but again thought better of it. "Fine, thank you." 

"I know it might seem like a lot at first, but I know that once you get the hang of it, you'll do amazing things." She smiled at him, which Remus was able to return. McGonagall then faced Snape to address him. "Mr. Black will be back by the start of next week, and I've convinced him to come back long enough to train Mr. Lupin, so you should be able to get back to your own duties soon, Mr. Snape." 

Remus almost snorted at hearing the words "Mr. Snape" and how ridiculous they sounded. The look on Severus' own face reflected how much he detested the title, which made it that much better. 

When McGonagall walked off, Snape's face fell into a scowl. 

"I can't believe that fucking _queer_ is coming back." He spat. 

Remus' head snapped towards Snape, angry to hear the word said in such a cruel way but not at all surprised to hear it coming from his mouth. 

"Who?" Remus tried to remain calm, and to keep any more homophobic language spewing from his coworker's mouth. 

"Sirius Black. He worked this job before you did, though he did a terrible job of it. But of course since his mommy and daddy own the place he could get away with whatever he wanted." 

Remus recognized the name instantly, thinking of all the times James would snort at his phone when texting his friend from Hogsmeade, or the many stories told about his winters hanging out with Sirius and his younger brother. Remus had obviously never met him, but knew that if James were friends with him he wasn't a bad person. Not as bad as Snape was making him seem. 

"Why did he quit?" Remus asked, hoping to gain as much information as he could. He wanted to know what made Sirius such a bad person that Snape had to hate him, though Snape's judgement of character was not one to be trusted. 

Snape scoffed. "If he quit at all. I think he got fired when he got caught sleeping with a married guest. The wife walked in on him and her husband, but of course his family covered the story up. Disgusting." 

Remus clenched his jaw to keep from yelling at Snape, an action that would definitely get him fired no matter how much the greasy bastard deserved it. He didn't believe a single word of Snape's story, thought it wasn't because he was silently defending Sirius. It had more to do with how much he was starting to despise Severus. 

Not wanting to hear any more bullshit come out of his trainer's mouth, Remus asked how he could log in to the computer he'd need for booking and payment transactions. Barely paying attention to how any of it worked, Remus prayed that this week would fly by and he wouldn't have to see Snape around the resort for the rest of the summer. He just hoped James and Peter were having a better day than he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love, comments are my motivation. Thanks for being here <3 I hope you're enjoying the story.
> 
> Also this is not edited, all mistakes are my fault.

**Author's Note:**

> If I used the wrong their/they're/there feel free to just take me out.


End file.
